#1 2009-08-17 13:16:04
Driving home from Boston this morning, I couldn't help but think how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful Town as Wareham..As I thought of how wonderful my afternoon on the beach would be, I came across the Michael Graham radio show..Graham did a piece on Crusty Coleman recently, so I stopped to give him a listen..what I heared reminded me of my own home town..
Graham spoke of the debate that rages about the Obama health care package..he described how people who felt the need to debate the issue have been labeled by the powers that be and the media as "hate mongers" or "evil mongers"..sound familiar??..despite how we all feel about the health care package, we should take solice in the fact that we live in a democracy and can express our opinions..
What started as a talk about our Federal Government and its issues quickly became a reminder to me about the state of our Town and the fact that people can make a difference..keep up the good work on this site and others, and let's let people know that Wareham can be brought back to civility and normalcy..we've been brought down by the incompitent BOS, their appointed ITA, and that alleged journalist for too long..let's truly TAKE BACK WAREHAM!!
Now, it's off to the beach..boy, do I love Wareham...
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#2 2009-08-17 13:41:59
Amen! Let's take the momentum of the first meeting and turn it into real change!
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#3 2009-08-17 13:52:41
slagis, how interesting that you made this connection. I was telling some friends over the weekend how the health care "death panel" "euthanasia kill your granny death pill" scare has been manufactured by some opponents including the Glenn Beck guy whose photo is sometimes on the right hand side of this blog. People actual believe this crap.
It reminded me of how ragboy says something utterly false and that people believe it. It then becomes a "twisted truth" and no matter how much proof you offer, you can't change those people's minds.
So, how is Obama and other proponents of health care counteracting these false statements? They are taking to town hall meetings to keep hammering the truth into the citizens. They are putting commercials on tv and in newspapers. Maybe we need to take a page out of that book. We must keep repeating the truth until we can get enough people to believe us.
Keep up the good work.
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#4 2009-08-17 14:38:08
My point was more towards the treatment of the folks who show up at the Town Meetings..they are there out of concern about a plan that may severely affect them..because they show up and speak out they are labeled as "hate mongers"..without taking either side in the issue, I'm trying to make a comparison with the citizens of Wareham who believe they are being done wrong..we have the right to voice our opinions and express our concerns (or sometimes outrage) at issues that affect us!!..for this we are labeled as evil??..think of this great site as a daily Town Meeting: a place to voice concerns about our Town and its mismanagement
If you feel like Obama is trying to hanmmer the truth into citizens that's great..unfortunately, the leaders of ourTown don't have the slightest clue about how to be effective leaders, nor do they know much about telling the truth!
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#5 2009-08-17 15:13:06
I get your point and it is well taken. My point was more towards trying to get people to open their minds after they have read something that is not true but totally believe it. Many people think we are all hate bloggers and hate mongers in part, because of what they have read.
That also is the great part about this site. If we keep getting the truth out there over and over, and enter into open and honest debate, we can only improve the town.
I have seen our own town meeting where people entered the room with one opinion and through a lively and fair debate, the vote went a different way than was expected. I have changed my mind about an issue once I heard more about it. Ignorance of a subject often creates a fear of it. So, the more you know the better equipped you are to vote responsibly.
Both of our points could be that we need to keep people educated about what is happening in town. And sometimes that means we have to hammer away.
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#6 2009-08-17 15:27:32
molly i agree my grandpa always said "knowledge is power" now i am older i truely understand that.. power to vote is a right and it should be done informed of the pros and cons take westfield for example i am in healthcare i am all for senior housing but assisted housing no you can get ALL THE SAME EMMITIES in your our home w/o paying 4000-7000 a month..
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#7 2009-08-17 16:04:28
SlagisDB, good point. It seems everybody learns the spin game whenever they want to push through an agenda. Labelling your adversary as "evil" or "hateful" is like Political Spin 101.
Don't get me started on Government Health Care (I don't support it). How well have they done with other huge programs like Social Security, etc.. Too much bureaucracy, in my opinion.
Westfield, it seems to me, is going nowhere unless the site is approved (which I don't think will happen). The BOS wonders why there's only one bidder. Apparently developers understand, unlike the BOS, that it's wasted effort to invest in (at this time). Spinning wheels, wasted resources.
PShooter
Last edited by PShooter (2009-08-17 16:04:53)
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#8 2009-08-17 16:14:36
pshooter 1 bid because of the assisted living part of the project...
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